LA's Umami Burger Unveils Impossible Burger

Los Angeles-based chain Umami Burger—with 24 nationwide locations and one in Japan—added the vegan Impossible Burger to the menu of its nine Southern California locations yesterday. The chain is promoting the new meatless option—which at this time cannot be made vegan, according to Umami Burger’s Facebook—as being “made for people who love meat, entirely from plants.” According to Impossible Foods’ founder Patrick Brown the goal of the company is to replace animal meat in traditional restaurant chains globally. “We encourage our restaurant partners to include vegan versions of the Impossible Burger on their menu,” Impossible Foods’ stated on its Facebook page. “However, our primary focus during our launch is to introduce meat eaters to the Impossible Burger so that we can have the greatest possible impact on our environment.” Brown launched the plant-based patty to widespread media attention last summer, debuting at high-end restaurants such as San Francisco’s Jardinière and New York’s Momofuku Nishi. Currently, the burger is available vegan as-is in several restaurants including vegan eatery Crossroads Kitchen in Los Angeles, Italian restaurant Vina Enoteca in Palo Alto, CA, and in three chef-created dishes at Andrea’s restaurant at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas, NV. Impossible Foods is gearing up for a massive expansion by way of constructing an upgraded production facility in Oakland, CA in order to reach its goal of distributing to 1,000 restaurants nationwide by the end of the year.